Thursday, September 30, 2004
Adequate funding is necessary for 21st-century education, administrators say.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BERLIN CENTER -- With less than five weeks to go before the election, school administrators appealed to state legislators to remedy Ohio's school funding problem, and local legislators lent a sympathetic ear.
"Don't kid yourself when you think that money doesn't matter," said James Hall, superintendent of the South Range School District.
Hall was one of many school administrators speaking at a forum on public education issues, which was attended by more than 100 people, mostly educators, Wednesday at Western Reserve High School. One such forum was being held simultaneously in each of the 33 state Senate districts.
In attendance in Berlin Center were state Sen. Robert Hagan of Youngstown, D-33rd; and state Reps. Ken Carano of Austintown, D-59th; Sylvester Patton of Youngstown, D-60th; and John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st.
In the past, schools sorted children by academic ability, giving top-notch education to college-bound students and basic education to everyone else, with basic schooling being sufficient for available jobs that didn't require advanced education.
Changing times
However, with no additional days of instruction, schools are challenged in the 21st century to give everyone a first-class education to enable all to compete in the information-age economy, and this must be done while the stability of the American family is in crisis, Hall said. "We've had some marvelous successes. If we're going to have more success, we better pony up some money," Hall said.
The Ohio Supreme Court has declared three times that the state's school funding system, which relies heavily on local property taxes, is unconstitutional, he said. He noted that local legislators are sympathetic to school districts' plight, but he was critical of some members of the legislative majority, who he said "really do not care about public education." Republicans constitute the majorities in the Ohio House and Senate.
"The needs of education have never been met for poor and minority children," said Wendy Webb, Youngstown schools superintendent. "There are a lot of things we have to deal with in urban education, but we believe we can do it, but we have to have the resources and the funding to do it."
"All of us have been trying to come up with a system that is fair," Hagan said of school funding. "The system is upside down," he added. Ohio can learn from the experiences of other states, most notably Michigan, which reworked its school funding system under a Republican governor to place more emphasis on the sales and income tax, and less emphasis on property tax, he said.
Sensitive subject
At times, the discussion got heated. "Until we change this one-party system, it's going to get worse and worse and worse. We no longer have public schools; we have government schools," complained Randy Hoover, professor of education at Youngstown State University.
"Every child has a chance for an education and a future. Everything that anybody in this room has, everybody has that same privilege, and I will not listen to someone like that condemning my country and condemning my state," replied Clarence Smith, Mahoning County Republican chairman.
The legislators noted that state lottery profits provide only a small share of school funding in Ohio, with Boccieri noting it is 6 percent to 7 percent of the total.
"If every penny of profits from the lottery went to education, it would be a drop in the bucket. The lottery money itself cannot fund education in the State of Ohio, " Patton said.
"The lottery itself is not going to come up with enough money to stop you from paying for your schools. That cannot happen," Carano concluded.
milliken@vindy.com